ANR Update

2019 Staff Engagement Survey

Dear Colleagues:

UC is running the biennial Staff Engagement Survey to learn more about non-represented (policy-covered) staff impressions about working at the university.

During the week of May 13, UC ANR staff members will receive an email from Willis Towers Watson, a firm conducting the survey on UC's behalf, with an invitation to take the survey. 

The survey was developed by the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) in collaboration with Systemwide Human Resources and Willis Towers Watson.

This is not spam so please do not delete the email invitation.

The Staff Engagement Survey aims to help UC better understand the views, experiences and needs of policy-covered staff on topics related to working at UC ANR, including career development, performance management and workplace collaboration.

This is the fourth staff engagement survey; the last survey was in 2017. ANR's past survey results led directly to ANR Staff Assembly's increased focus on wellness, including guidelines for health meetings and UC Walks. By comparing the results of the past surveys, ANR Staff Assembly and Human Resources will get insight into areas where progress has been made and areas that need further effort and focus.

You can find information about past survey results on the ANR Staff Assembly website:  http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Council_of_University_of_California_Staff_Assemblies/2017_UC_Staff_Engagement_Survey/

We encourage you to complete the survey, if you should receive it. It is an opportunity to provide direct feedback that will help shape how we work at UC ANR.

The survey is completely confidential. Individual responses to the survey and personally identifying information will not be shared with UC.

Note that union-represented employees will not participate in the survey because UC receives their feedback through their union representatives during the collective bargaining process.

More information on UCNet: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2019/05/ucs-fourth-systemwide-staff-engagement-survey-launches-may-13.html

If you have questions about the survey, please contact EmployeeSurveySupport@willistowerswatson.com. 

Shane Feirer
Chair, UC ANR Staff Assembly

John Fox
Executive Director, UC ANR Human Resources

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Two-minute communications survey – plus a prize drawing

We need your input to help us evaluate the various internal communications platforms used at ANR and to develop a strategy aligned with communication best practices. Please take a two-minute survey to share your thoughts: https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=27524.

All survey responses (with names included) will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Starbucks gift card. That's a lot of coffee for two minutes of your time! 

Thank you in advance for helping to shape the efficiency and effectiveness of internal communications at UC ANR.

While we are rethinking how to deliver internal news to employees, we are continuing to email high-priority announcements via ANR Update and putting other stories into the ANR Report blog https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/anrreport.

Linda Forbes 
Strategic Communications Director

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

UCPath paychecks to start October 1

The systemwide UCPath Steering Committee has decided the new launch date for UCPath at UC ANR, UC Davis and UC Davis Health will be October 1, with cutover activities happening in September.

The decision for UC ANR to launch UCPath on October 1 comes on the heels of a smooth transition to UCPath at UC Berkeley over the last month. UC ANR's project team continues to work closely with their counterparts at UC Berkeley and other UC locations to collect lessons learned and best practices to prepare for our transition.

“I would like to express my gratitude to our UC ANR colleagues across the state who continue to maintain UC ANR's readiness to cut over to UCPath,” said Tu M. Tran, associate vice president, business operations.

The UC ANR team is using the extra time to review our readiness and focus on training and transition activities. We will continue to share information as we approach the new target go-live date.

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Sad news about Charles Hess

[UPDATED APRIL 16, 2019, to correct Linda Katehi's title to Chancellor.]

 

Dear Colleagues,

I know many of you worked with Charley Hess. I have learned that Charley passed away Saturday at home with family following a long bout with congestive heart failure. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Glenda Humiston  

In memoriam: Charles E. Hess

Charles E. Hess, former USDA assistant secretary and longtime dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, died April 13.

Hess was one of the principle architects of the National Research Initiative, which evolved into the competitive grants program of USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

“He led the successful advocacy for the NRI with support from then Secretary of Agriculture Clayton Yeutter, OMB and key congressional supporters on both the Agriculture and Science Committees. The initiative was strongly supported by all parts of the land grant system and by the food and agriculture community in industry,” Neville P. Clarke of Texas A & M University wrote in an email.

Hess, who received his undergraduate degree at Rutgers University and his master of science and doctoral degrees at Cornell University, joined Purdue University in 1958, serving on the faculty until 1966. He returned to Rutgers in 1966 as chair of the Department of Horticulture and Forestry and became acting dean of the Rutgers College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in 1971. He was named the founding dean of Rutgers' Cook College in 1973.

At UC Davis, Hess served as dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from 1975 until 1989, when he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to be the assistant secretary for science and education in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prior to that, he had two presidential appointments to the National Science Board, the governing board of the National Science Foundation.

Upon his return to UC Davis in 1991, he served as the director of international programs. He retired in 1994, but continued serving the university as a special assistant to the provost and chancellor, interim vice chancellor of the Office of Research, and chair of the Department of Nutrition from 2007 to 2009.

He facilitated the move of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Western Human Nutrition Center from San Francisco to UC Davis in 2003. Hess also served as chair of the U.S. Agency for International Development-National Academies Review Panel for the Pakistan–U.S. Science and Technology Cooperative Program.

As UC retiree himself, Hess promoted the welfare of retirees through his service as the first chair of the Retiree Center Advisory Committee and as a former president of the Emeriti Association. He served as chair of the Council of UC Emeriti Associations from 2008 to 2010 and as team leader of the Retiree Health Workgroup of UC President Mark Yudof's Post-Employment Benefits Task Force.

He served on the Almond Board of California's science advisory panel and in 2013 was inducted into the Horticulture Hall of Fame.

In 2014, Hess received the UC Davis Medal, the premier accolade the campus bestows upon an individual. “No one is more deserving of this honor than Charley,” UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said at the time. “UC Davis is the global leader in agricultural and forestry research due, in great part, to his vision and leadership.”

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Employee comment sought on academic freedom, responsibilities of non-faculty academics

The University invites comments on a proposed new Academic Personnel Manual Section 011 (APM - 011), Academic Freedom, Protection of Professional Standards, and Responsibilities of Non-faculty Academic Appointees.

Currently, APM - 010 (Academic Freedom) defines academic freedom as it pertains to faculty and defines the freedom of scholarly inquiry for students, as it derives from the faculty's academic freedom. APM - 015 (The Faculty Code of Conduct) defines the corresponding responsibilities as it pertains to faculty only. Although APM - 010 states that it is not intended to “diminish the rights and responsibilities enjoyed by other academic appointees,” APM - 010 and APM - 015 do not address how these concepts apply or do not apply to non-faculty academic appointees. The proposed new policy is intended to address the academic privileges, rights, obligations and responsibilities of non-faculty academic appointees.

The proposed new APM - 011, Academic Freedom, Protection of Professional Standards, and Responsibilities of Non-Faculty Academic Appointees, is posted at https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/academic-personnel-policy/policies-under-review/apm-011.html.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than July 1, 2019.

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

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